Skip to main content

Whither the NDDC probe?

NDDC probe

IN Nigeria, probe panels have become the classic means of covering up crimes and corruption in government, rather than the means of exposing them and punishing culprits.

Even the military panels for the recovery of government funds and property set up by the Muhammadu Buhari military regime in 1984 turned out a mere witch hunt of targeted political foes.

The panels set up by the Senate and House of Representatives to probe allegations of massive misappropriation of funds in the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, in July this year appear to have gone the way of the others even after a cloud of thespian displays on live television.

President Muhammadu Buhari had ordered a “forensic audit” of the Commission in October 2019 when a delegation led by former Bayelsa State Governor, Seriake Dickson, visited him in Aso Villa.

Till date, there are no indications as to what the audit has uncovered. The nation remains in the dark about the affairs of the interventionist body that has left thousands of jobs abandoned by contractors after collecting fees up front.

ALSO READ: LGs’ creation should be responsibilities of states ― Lawmaker Insists

Also, following allegations that the Interim Management Committee, IMC, of the Commission led by Prof. Kemebradikumo Daniel Pondei had misappropriated over N81bn within the seven months of its tenure, the House of Representatives empanelled the committee headed by Olatunbosun Tunji Ojo to probe the allegations. Following pressures from IMC officials who accused Ojo of selfish interests, he recused himself and gave way to his deputy, Thomas Eremienyo. Eremienyo, in turn, desperately tried to stop the Niger Delta Affairs Minister, Senator Godswill Akpabio, from proceeding when the latter alleged that most lawmakers were beneficiaries of NDDC contracts.

There was also the dramatic episode where the Rivers State Police Command tried to arrest former Chairman of the NDDC IMC, Joy Nunieh, who was billed to testify against Akpabio.  It took the personal intervention of the Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, to prevent that. The climax of the dramatic series was the sudden slumping of Prof. Pondei on July 20, 2020 while waiting to testify. That appeared to be the end of the probes.

Even the Senate’s investigation of the N40bn “illegal payments” by the IMC appears to have died a natural death.

In all these, the true situation of things in the Commission remains obfuscated. Nothing has been heard of Buhari’s over one-year-long forensic audit. Nobody has been brought to book, and the two chambers of the National Assembly have not disclosed to the public the outcomes of their investigations.

We need to remind the President, the Senate and House of Representatives that the public has the right to know the outcomes of their probes, and the law must be visited on offenders.

Otherwise, the NDDC will remain a cesspit of corruption.

Vanguard News Nigeria

The post Whither the NDDC probe? appeared first on Vanguard News.


by Emmanuel Okogba via Vanguard News https://ift.tt/3ltIotX Best Known Member of the Cabinet Wikipedia
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

UPDATED: Nigeria’s coronavirus cases reach 1,728, fatalities 51

  By David Royal The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) says 196 new cases of coronavirus (COVID-19) have been reported in the last 24 hours, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 1,728. NCDC also announced that seven more fatalities were recorded, bringing the total number of deaths to 51. The NCDC, in a tweet at about 11:55 p.m. on Wednesday, said the 196 new cases reported were; 87-Lagos, 24-Kano, 18-Gombe, 17-Kaduna, 16-FCT, 10-Katsina, 8-Sokoto, 7-Edo, 6-Borno, 1-Yobe, 1-Ebonyi, 1-Adamawa. The virus has spread to 34 states and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. Yobe, according to NCDC report, is the most recent state to record COVID-19 case in the country. According to the agency, Nigeria now has 1,370 active cases recorded as of 11:55 p.m. on April 29, while 307 infected persons have been treated and discharged, with 51 deaths recorded. READ ALSO: US says remdesivir shows ‘clear-cut’ effect in treating coronavirus “On the 29th of April 2020, 196 ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Covid 19: Bowen University tasks government on post coronavirus fallout

By Shina Abubakar, Osogbo   THE Vice Chancellor of Bowen University, Iwo, Osun State, Prof. Joshua Ogunwole, has urged governments at different levels to prepare for the aftermath of coronavirus as he opined that life would not remain the same afterward. While alerting the government of the effect of the pandemic on the economy, he charged the people to brace up for the challenges post COVID-19 will pose for the society, especially in the area of human relation. READ ALSO: BRAIN DRAIN: Beyond minimum wage, give doctors welfare package — LAGOS NMA Ogunwole who disclosed to this while donating relief materials to the people of Iwo and Oluponna to cushion the effect of lockdown on the vulnerable residents of the towns, said the world would not remain the same as global economy would rely more on virtual interaction, hence, the masses must be prepared for the new reality. While noting that the school’s gesture was to support government’s efforts in alleviating the sufferings of ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Protesters, police clash in Rome as Italy weighs new lockdowns

New skirmishes between police and protestors broke out in Rome on Saturday following clashes in Florence a night earlier that Italy’s interior minister blamed on “violent fringe elements”. Protesters have taken to the streets in the past week in cities across Italy, including Rome, Naples and Turin, to criticise a new series of restrictions to aimed at stopping an alarming rise in coronavirus cases, even as the government considers more stringent measures to be announced as early as Monday. Early Saturday evening in Rome, a sit-in at the famed Campo dei Fiori ended in a clash with police as some in a crowd of a few hundred protesters began throwing bottles and firecrackers, before being dispersed by police with riot gear and truncheons. A second protest in Rome also ended in clashes with authorities. The protests in Italy’s capital came a day after an unauthorised nighttime demonstration in the Renaissance city of Florence turned violent, when police sought to prohibit about 200 p...
Post a Comment
Read more